From the Desk of Miss Foyle

Week of May 16, 2016

From the Desk of Miss Foyle

Week of May 16, 2016

Top 5 Things to Know

1. The final countdown to 8th grade graduation is on...What a beautiful Mass and ribbon pinning ceremony we had this past Wednesday! (Photo below is courtesy of Mr. Economou.) In two short weeks, the class of 2016 will receive their diplomas and celebrate Mass together for one last time. We look forward to this event and will continue to pray for them on their transition to high school.

2. The 8th graders will be hosting our FIRST ANNUAL SERVICE FAIR this upcoming Tuesday (5/24) during their respective class times (8A = 1:10-1:35 / 8B = 2:40-3:05). Please consider stopping by and helping us celebrate the wonderful service your children have done in the community! Please drop me a quick note via email (kfoyle@icsjschool.org) if you are planning to drop in. Thank you!

3. REMINDER: 8th grade service hours (for Religion class and graduation) are due by May 25th (this upcoming Wednesday). Students should turn in their CST reflection forms ASAP. Please ask your son/daughter if they have turned in their forms. There are still a few students who need to turn in forms. Thanks!

4. Remember, there is NO SCHOOL on Friday, May 27 and Monday, May 30, due to the Memorial Day holiday.

5. As always, red folders should be reviewed and signed. The following assessments will be coming home from my classes:

6LA: blog post rubrics

6 Rel: N/A

8 Rel: N/A

Please join us for a special event!

Immaculate Conception St. Joseph School invites you to attend a special film screening ofScreenagers: Growing Up In The Digital Age on Tuesday May 24, 2016 at 6PM in the Hill Street Gymnasium.

This event is recommended for all parents and students in grades 4-8.

In SCREENAGERS, Delaney Ruston takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts a child or adolescent's development and offers solutions on how adults can empower children and young adults to best navigate the digital world and find balance.

Attention: Although the film is rated appropriate for any children in grades 4 or older, please be aware that there are three topics/excerpts that touch on inappropriate texting (the story of a girl who texted a picture of herself in her bra and sent it to a boy who sent it to another girl who sent it to everyone in her social media circle), extreme violence in video games, and adolescent language in some of the text examples. The administrative team viewed the movie this week and can answer any questions that you may have regarding the topic. Many local elementary schools and high schools have hosted the screening of this movie in recent weeks. It is definitely worth your time to see it as a parent and discuss it with your child.

Spring Show Success!

Classroom Updates

8 Religion

On Monday, students watched a reprise version of "The Last Lecture" and were asked to think about what their own message/"last lecture" to their peers & family would be, especially in light of life lessons they've learned about family, faith, and time. On Thursday, they outlined/wrote and recorded their messages - there's were only 2-4 minutes in length, which actually posed quite a challenge because there's so much to say in so little time. (I found this out first hand when I created my own as a model for them.) We will view these in class as we are able in these final days. The students' videos will be compiled into an online folder and shared with them.

Due to the spring show rehearsal, 8B did not have class on Tuesday. 8A completed an app exploration activity, where they used school iPads to try out 1-3 different faith-related apps. All of the apps are free and can be downloaded on iPads, iPhones, and/or Android devices. If you have a chance, I highly recommend checking the apps out - they are user-friendly and offer a quick check-in with God during an otherwise routine/busy day.

On Friday, students started preparations for our FIRST ANNUAL SERVICE FAIR (see invitation to parents in "Top 5" section). They will finalize preparations on Monday and share their presentations (posters, videos, etc.) with students and parents/guests on Tuesday during their respective class times. Again, I hope you will be able to join us!

6 Religion

Throughout the week, we continued to focus on Mary, especially on her role in the Gospels, drawing connections between Mary as Jesus' mother and Mary as our own mother in faith. Students engaged in an interview activity, where they wrote and answered questions for Mary (based on biblical accounts). They also demonstrated their understanding of the role of Mary in the Catholic faith in a reflective art activity, where they incorporated related Scripture passages and symbols.

6 Language Arts

The students are heading into the final stretch of their book club novels. This week's reading skills focused on character analysis (using textual evidence) and synthesis of information/events from background knowledge articles and the book itself.

In writing, students have been typing away for their creative story projects. Next week, the students will finish typing, peer edit/revise, and format so that they are ready to add illustrations and final touches before their stories are bound! We look forward to celebrating their hard work and to listening to each story.

Grammar has students looking at verb tenses, especially as they need to match compound subjects. It gets tricky with "each" and "neither," so we'll keep practicing.

Students are in their final word study unit. This week's roots were LIB/LIV (from the Latin "LIBER" meaning "free." They will have a quiz on all Unit 6 words on Thursday, May 26.